Report Highlights: Gun laws and crime rates vary by state. Legislation such as background check requirements, ammunition and gun bans, and red flag laws that are intended to restrict firearm access often fail at reducing crime rates or gun violence.
- Firearms are used in 73% of homicides in states with laws that restrict firearm ownership and transfers, and 75% of homicides in states where firearms aren’t restricted.
- Firearms are used in 73% of homicides in states with strict gun laws and 75% in states with relaxed gun laws.
- 98% of mass shootings in the United States occurred after the Gun Control Act of 1968.
- Western countries with strict gun laws have higher violent crime rates than the U.S. Many other countries have much higher homicide rates.
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Methodology
States in this article are ranked according to whether their gun laws are relaxed, strict, or mixed.
- Relaxed - States with relaxed gun laws do not require background checks on private sales or waiting periods. They also do not restrict firearms or ammunition.
- Strict - States with strict gun laws require background checks on private sales, ban certain types of firearms or ammunition, and have further legislated to restrict firearm ownership or possession.
- Mixed - States with mixed gun laws allow concealed carry, but also require background checks or waiting periods before the purchase of firearms.
Do Strict Gun Laws Reduce Violent Crime?
Gun control laws do not reduce violent crime. Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. have strict gun laws. Seven of those states have violent crime rates above the national average, while 11 have violent crime rates below it. 12, 13, 14
On the contrary, 26 states have relaxed gun laws. Thirteen of those have crime rates below the national average, and 13 above it.
Five of seven states with a mix of relaxed and strict gun laws also have crime rates below the national average. Out of this category, only Nevada and New Mexico have crime rates above the national average.
Do Countries With Strict Gun Laws Have Less Gun Violence?
Some countries that have strict gun laws also have the highest rates of gun violence in the world, while others have the lowest. (Source 11)
- Jamaica, Ecuador, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico, which have strict gun laws and regulations, also have the highest gun violence rates in the world.
- Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, and the U.S. have more relaxed gun laws, and had fewer than five gun-related homicides per 100,000 residents in 2023.
- Australia, Japan, and the U.K. have strict gun laws and low firearm-related homicide rates.
Concealed Carry Crime Stats
Homicide and violent crime rates in the U.S. were highest in the 1970s and 1980s (above 600 per 100k on average) when states widely prohibited concealed carry. As states began permitting concealed carry, crime rates began decreasing and remain below 365 per 100k, nationwide.
- Despite having never regulated concealed carry, Vermont has consistently low homicide and violent crime rates.
- New Hampshire began issuing permits to carry in 1923 and has maintained lower violent crime and incidents of homicides than most states.
- 29 states in the U.S. have permitless concealed carry in 2025.
- 60% of all states with permitless concealed carry before January 2023 have violent crime rates below the national average.
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